THUNDER BAY – Once he started passing other racers, Tristan Jaspers never looked back.
The Westgate Collegiate and Vocational student scored a resounding 37.2-second triumph in the Boys Open 2,000-metre steeplechase race, kicking off the 2025 NWOSSAA track and field championships at Fort William Stadium.
Jaspers, the nephew of former NHLer Jason Jaspers, said it was a bit of a surprising result, given it was his first time in the event.
“I never ran it before, so I just wanted to start out slow, feel it out and start picking it up and running a little faster,” Jaspers said.
“Everyone else went out really fast, which I was kind of surprised by … After the first lap, right on the back stretch, I started passing everyone and then a lap after that, I kind of felt no one around me, so I just kept going.”
Jaspers, who qualified for provincials with the result, said it was a chance to show what he can do and set a standard he can try to match or beat when he puts his skills to the test against the best Ontario high school students in the sport.
“Going to OFSAA, there will be tougher competition, so I’ll have to push myself harder, but it was a really good race and my competitors did really well too,” he said.
Jaspers, who ran the course in 6:49.81 beat out Tigers teammate Bradley Kaemingh, who finished in 7:8.08, just six-tenths of a second faster than bronze medallist Fenn Dobson of Hammarskjold High School.
St. Ignatius Falcons star Avery Martin got off to a quick start in the marquee contest, winning her first junior 100-meter dash heat by 1.62 seconds, then went on to capture gold in an even faster time, crossing the line in 12.7 seconds, just four one-hundredths of a second off the NWOSSAA record of 12.66, set by Westgate’s Leah Maki in 2013.
Teammate Sofi Lacaria took second place on the podium, in a time of 13.06.
Martin, 16, said the NWOSSAA meet is always a challenge, but worth the training she has to put in.
“It’s really fun to try to get a personal best and just try to do the best you can,” she said.
Lacaria said she’s hoping to make her mark in other events too, with the goal of landing a spot at provincials.
“Hopefully in triple jump and the relay. And if I get there for running, that would be great too,” Lacaria said.
In the senior girls’ final, St. Ignatius took all three spots on the podium, led by Gabriella Lacaria, who edged Emily Jones by 0.09 seconds, winning the race in 13:07. Mary Galle was third.
St. Patrick’s Orlando Allison won the senior boys’ 100-metre title, crossing the line in 11:32, 0.34 seconds ahead of St. Ignatius’ Carson Height.
The Falcons Alyssa Blazino won the 100-metre senior girls’ hurdles and Malek Badi of Hammarskjold took the senior boys’ title.
In the senior girls’ triple jump it was St. Ignatius’ Carsyn Todesco coming out on top with a result of 10.85 metres.
Superior’s Kohen O’Shea won the senior boys’ shotput, with a throw of 12.2 metres. Teammate Alanna Paisley captured the senior girls’ javelin title with a throw of 33.21 metres. Dryden’s Mackenzie Harrington is the senior girls high jump champion, soaring 1.35 metres, and St. Patrick’s Malachi Maskery win the senior boys’ long jump, traveling 5.89 metres.
Galle won the girls’ 400-metre race in a time of 1:00.43 and Westgate’s Tyler Rose topped the senior boys’ field, finishing in 5:35 to edge Hammarskjold’s Frank Aguilera by more than two seconds. Superior’s Isaac Williams and Hammarskjold’s Min Dobson captured the boys’ and girls’ 1,500-metre races.
The competition continues on Wednesday.
